Humans of Lee: Laura Guy
photo by Halea Lingerfelt
A soft smile crept across Laura Guy’s face when she spoke about her little brother.
“He’s taught me a lot of compassion. I’m not a patient person, but he’s taught me patience,” Guy said.
Laura Guy is a friendly, bubbly Lee freshman with a passion for people and a unique family.
She hails from Georgia, is the third of four children and the older sister to 14 year-old Caleb Guy.
Caleb has Down syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes distinct facial features and intellectual and developmental delays. Despite his condition, he lives a life full of joy, not allowing anything to get in his way.
Guy describes younger brother, Caleb, as her greatest role model.
“Caleb being in my life has changed how I look at things. He’s like my own child,” Guy said.
Caleb and Laura Guy
photo from Facebook.com
Guy’s relationship with her younger brother has granted her a unique perspective on disability. The experience of intimately knowing someone with Down syndrome has allowed Guy to shed some of the majority opinions surrounding ableism, or discrimination in favor of able-bodied people.
“They [those with Down syndrome] are just as able and capable as we are. I think it’s sad that we don’t push them to their full potential just because they have a disability. Caleb is so much better than me is so many ways,” Guy said.
photo by Halea Lingerfelt
Guy proved the Caleb is smarter than a lot of people give him credit for.
“Caleb knows how to manipulate people to get what he wants, because people let him,” Guy said with a laugh.
It was Caleb’s influence in her life that led Guy to become an early childhood education major. Currently a freshman at Lee, Guy is studying to be a teacher who believes every child is as capable as the next.
Full of passion and drive, Guy is merely at the outset of her journey at Lee. During her remaining college years, she hopes to continue influencing people through the power of relationship, always bearing the gleaming light Caleb has sparked in her.
